TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 24, 2023

Adam Schenk

East Lake Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Obviously the heat doesn't bother you at all, right?

ADAM SCHENK: It does. I sweat a lot, so dipping my hands in the cooler, using the ice towels. It's a little bit of a challenge, but I think we're getting a little used to it after Memphis. But it's definitely something to be considered. The ball definitely goes further, for me at least. I'm sure it's going further everybody. So it's definitely something you have to take into consideration.

Q. How does it feel to shoot 63 and still get beat by a couple strokes in your group?

ADAM SCHENK: Yeah, Collin's pretty good, played great today. It sounds bad to say, but I've never won out here, so I guess I get kind of used to losing a little bit. But I played great. If I would continue to do that, hopefully I'll get that monkey off my back someday. But I played great, he just played a little better.

Q. On that note, being a non-winner and making this, does it mean different things to you to have that couple-year exemption?

ADAM SCHENK: It does, absolutely. It's like winning, I guess, because I get the extra year. So I don't know how many guys in the field made it to the TOUR Championship without winning year. I don't know what that number is. Five, six?

Q. Tommy Fleetwood and you?

ADAM SCHENK: Several guys? Well, yeah. But, no, if you've made it here, you played great golf all year whether you've won or not, but winning definitely helps.

Q. So there's no chance that your dad's farm is going to be supplying grass for the redo here, is it?

ADAM SCHENK: I don't think so. That's an awfully long way to go. But this grass around here is pretty nice. I don't know if my dad's grass is that nice. It's not a lot either. This grass is really, really, really good, but his grass is good too, but I like to needle him.

Q. What is it about when two guys get to playing like this together, how much do you feed off each other?

ADAM SCHENK: Yeah, you could feed off each other two ways. You could both not play so great and luckily Collin got off to a good start and I was playing okay and then put together a three-birdie stretch to end the front nine. And then put together another one, and then birdied maybe one or two holes there on the back nine.

But I guess I just fed off more of Collin than anything probably, and then I made some, and then he made some maybe off of me, but it's definitely an enjoyable day when you are playing with someone that does play really well.

Q. The back final three holes seem to be playing pretty easy for guys. Why is that?

ADAM SCHENK: 16's a good hole. If you get it in the fairway, it's basically a bowl pin. You cover the bunker, it lands down grain.

17, you get it in the fairway -- the wind's actually all over the place, but it was a little off the right for us. So Collin and I just hit little cuts to make the fairway very wide, another little bowl pin.

18, if you hit a good drive there, I had 4-iron in, Collin had maybe 5-wood. So if you get it in the fairway on those three holes you're most likely going to play 'em under par.

Q. During the John Deere Classic you talked about being on steady slope up. Can you tell me about that, how that kind of culminated in this week? Have you made any changes? What's been going well for you this season and this week?

ADAM SCHENK: Just a steady season. I had a couple second place finishes, but I feel like I just really try and worry about myself and prepare the best I can for the coming week.

I got here, loved the golf course, only played each nine holes one time, but I just really fell in love with the place and thought if we could drive it well and make some putts this week, maybe we could have a chance on Sunday, which would be incredible starting nine shots back of Scottie Scheffler and Rahm and all those guys. So it's going to be an incredibly tall task, but today helps a lot.

Q. Being nine shots back and also having not won on TOUR, do you think that affected your outlook coming in compared to like a standard TOUR event? Like, how have you kind of had any expectations for this week?

ADAM SCHENK: Yeah, maybe less expectations because I was starting nine back. I mean, I kind of finished the round and didn't really know if I was 6-under, 7-under, which is a good thing when you kind of forget about your score because it's really irrelevant.

But yeah, it is weird because you could -- I guess you could win the golf tournament but not win the FedExCup. So I don't know how that works with like rankings. If you actually win the stroke play here, I don't think you get a win. But that would be a cool feather to have in your cap.

Q. You've also described yourself as a grinder. Can you tell me about that? What does that mean to you?

ADAM SCHENK: Yeah, I have to work for everything. I may not be as talented as a lot of guys in these field, so I have to be really smart and not give away any shots, and I generally play a lot to give myself more chances, so this is my 33rd event. So hopefully play a little better continuing going forward, maybe play just a little less, but I'll probably still play a lot.